#MakeThisBattle Feedback - January 16th

Well hello there! We've missed you. For this first round of MTB in 2021 we're gonna split up the feedback between myself and Lloyd. Hope that works for you. :) Now that we’ve gotten some basic pleasantries out of the way, let’s get down to brass tacks. “Brass tacks” is an American idiom that was first used in 1863, a period of history I am currently obsessed with - Nice Peter

Florence Nightingale vs Alexander Fleming [submitted by Leo M.R.]

Well, I already love this session, as I do and have always loved Florence Nightingale as a potential ERB appearance. But I think I am thinking of the wrong Fleming, can’t stop thinking about Ian and I imagine they are very different….oh… the antibiotics guy… okay nice, the battle of who saved more wounded soldiers more compassionately. This can work. Could we add an appearance from my old bass player Pauly Doerr? He was very fond of taking care of unfinished beers the morning after a party, he called them wounded soldiers.

Princess Peach vs Princess Diana [submitted by Dante Walton]

Lol. Yes! But definitely no. But yes!! There’s a lot of great jokes to unpack in a matchup like this one. This is the kind of battle that would be very fun in an improvised live concert setting. I just don’t know if it would translate to video. Let's see how it does on the poll. If you ever catch an ERB concert in the future, shout this one out, I love it.

John Henry vs Jeff Bezos [submitted by Alvin Franco]

Who the heck is John Henry, and why is he better than Henry Ford or Lex Luthor? Oh right, the legendary black man of yore. It’s a stretch, and not the good kind. It’s not a gentle yoga stretch, it’s a sweatshirt pulled over a long sleeve shirt and the cuffs get pulled up too tight over your elbows stretch. Uncomfortable. This is not one for me.

Homer Simpson vs Spongebob Squarepants [submitted by MC Fawful]

Could be great, should be great. Lots of jokes and legions of fans. Characters people love. Honestly I’m intimidated by the research, I’d have to watch a lot of damn cartoons. I like it, it does feel better than the Homer vs Peter Griffin pairing in many ways. So, if we did Homer maybe this is the match-up for him. 

I'm now gonna pass the baton to EpicLloyd to offer his thoughts on some match-ups...

Martin Luther vs Isaac Asimov [submitted by Pihassassa]

I’m not a fan. Both of these people are wicked deep cuts; so I just wouldn’t expect the video to be very popular. I just can't see it. Both of these would need to be paired with better known opponents. It’s not very exciting on the page either. Some people might be asleep after reading the title. I prefer using Martin Luther as a joke in the Gandhi episode which we already did, so sorry but I’m a thumbs down on this one.

Ayn Rand vs Ben Shapiro [submitted by Mortal]

The only reason I would do this matchup is if I could get Ray William Johnson to play Ben Shapiro. I think both of these people are not the best human beings in the world but that’s never really excluded other folks from being in battles. I would just have a hard time falling in love with their perspectives and then writing raps from their perspectives that I felt were awesome. But, Ray as Shapiro might get me excited for it.

Edward Snowden vs Neo [submitted by AlexKnight002]

Edward Snowden is interesting. He’s well known and has taken actions which merit him being in a battle. Not sure Neo is the matchup for him, although I do like the Matrix movies and he’s obviously a very popular character. The visuals could be cool for sure. The first time I saw the Matrix my mind was blown and I could envisage us making a it look great so this might not be a bad idea. It's one for the maybe pile.

--------

Monk's Hot Takes - our manager HeadMonk offers a few second opinions...

So, Homer vs SpongeBob is gonna crush the poll right? Even if live action Homer has the potential to be a total train wreck unless we nail it completely. Doing it animated is possible but we'd have to make our own animated takes on the characters to avoid copyright issues and that might just look rather odd. But I'd still be happy exploring the match-up. 

Nightingale vs Fleming or any medical based match-up has the benefit of curing insomnia so it's certainly got that going for it. But, Florence is certainly worthy. No argument there. I just really can't get past the fact I don't personally get excited about seeing her and her damn lamp. Gimme Dr Frankenstein (portrayed by Zach or Wierd Al) and I'm up for any medical/science opponent. But otherwise I have an allergic reaction to medical battles. Maybe Pete can change my mind.

Snowden vs Neo is solid. New matrix movie coming out. Keanu on the rise with John Wick. Neo could work well in ERB. Snowden brings some real life intrigue. I like it. It doesn't feel a top tier style of battle that screams 'we must do this', but it could be fun. I dig it.

--------

So that was the first round of MTB in 2021. Nice job! Now we need more match-ups!!

As it is the start of a new year and we've been doing this process for a long time, I am gonna hit the reset button and consider match-ups that have already received feedback previously in 2019/20. 

If you're not aware - Pete and Lloyd change their mind A LOT. Like day to day. Week to week. So something they liked / disliked 12+ months ago they may feel very different about now. So, everything is back on the table. Old and new.

The theme for the new round is 'Costume Frenzy'!

We are looking for match-ups that feature one or both characters who have costumes or accessories that you think would look super special in an ERB video. For instance Pennywise's clown outfit or Catherine The Great's humongous dress etc etc. 

You can always ignore the theme completely if you prefer. But, when selecting the match-ups for feedback we will select 2 or more suggestions that match the theme.

Same rules apply. Seven match-ups in total will be selected. Three suggestions per person. You can post them in the comments below, email them to erbpatreon@gmail.com or post them on the Discord server in the dedicated '#make-this-battle' channel.

Deadline for submissions is... 5pm PT on Wednesday 27th January.